SAN BERNARDINO: Police win $546,502 federal grant for body cameras

San Bernardino is among three Southland cities to win federal grants to equip their police with body cameras.

The bankrupt city's $546,502 award is roughly double Pasadena's $250,000 grant and more than half of the $1 million earmarked for Los Angeles Police Department.

The money is part of $19.3 million that the U.S. Department of Justice is providing to 73 police agencies in 32 states.

"This vital pilot program is designed to assist local jurisdictions ... in exploring and expanding the use of body-worn cameras to enhance transparency, accountability and credibility," agency officials said in a written announcement Monday, Sept. 21.

But it may be months before the cameras hit the streets. To obtain the grant money, each city must meet a 50 percent match.

The grants build on President Barack Obama's proposal to buy 50,000 body cameras for law enforcement agencies within three years.

Body cameras have been touted as a way to protect the public from police misconduct -- and police from false accusations of abuse.

Interest in the devices has increased in the wake of several nationally publicized officer-involved shootings, including last year's death of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.

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